Madrid today has dawned a little more inclusive. It seems that protesters are fed up and they are going to reclaim what belongs to all of the people #QueerBenches
Colectivos por los derechos y libertades LGTBIQ responden a la desaparición de bancos que se pintaron hace casi cuatro años y que algunos concejales del gobierno de Almeida han querido eliminar.
Madrid dawns with “LGBTQ+ Pride” Park Benches to denounce Queerphobia, when overnight LGTBIQ+ Civil Rights Groups respond to the disappearance of public benches that had been painted (in LGBTQIA+ Colours) almost four years ago, but that some councilors of the new more conservative-leaning government have wanted to eliminate.
La ciudad de Madrid ha amanecido este martes un poco más colorida. Con la etiqueta de #BancosInvertidos en redes sociales, diversos colectivos LGTBIQ madrileños celebran la aparición de bancos de parques, plazas y aceras con los colores de las banderas que representan la diversidad sexual y de género. A los nuevos bancos pintados les acompañan frases reivindicativas como “Los malos bancos son los otros”, “Barrios libres de transfobia” y “Las calles son nuestras”.
The city of Madrid has dawned on Tuesday a little more colorful. With the label of #BancosInvertidos in social networks, various LGTBIQ groups in Madrid celebrate the appearance of park benches, squares and sidewalks with the colors of the flags that represent sexual and gender diversity. The new painted banks are accompanied by vindictive phrases such as "The bad benches are those others", “Neighborhoods free of transphobia” and “The streets are ours.”
Image: on a plain white background, thrusting up thru the words “Refuse To Be Invisible” written in a bold, black type is the drawing of an upraised arm from below the wrist, with the hand in a clenched fist, the image is coloured in with the Pink, Purple and Blue of the Bisexual+ Pride Flag
Hello, Beloved! President-Elect Joe Biden (he/him) and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris (she/her) have been hard at work to begin the transition from President Trump. Within that transition, there has been some positive LGBTQ+ news. Joe Biden has decided to appoint queer folk to his transition team. Some of them include:
Shawn Skelly (she/her): Skelly is a trans person and veteran. She served in the Navy for 20 years. Alongside her military background, Skelly was also appointed by Barack Obama (he/him) for his administration. Under Biden, she will be overseeing the Department of Defense. Chai Feldman (she/her): Feldman is a lesbian who will be overseeing the Department of Justice. Feldman also served on Obama’s administration. Another notable piece: Feldman helped draft the Americans with Disabilities Act. Pamela Karlan (she/her): Karlan is a bisexual woman who will also be overseeing the Department of Justice. She is a professor at Stanford Law School, has worked to bring down the Defense of Marriage Act, has successfully worked to clarify Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and was a key player in the Trump Impeachment. Dave Noble (he/him): Noble is a gay man who will be overseeing NASA and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Noble was also a part of Obama’s administration and has worked in many different LGBTQ+ leadership roles, specifically those from the ACLU, the National LGBTQ Task Force, and the National Stonewall Democrats.
It’s not Pride month anymore but it’s always time 4 support! Check on my profile 4 the gay, lesbian and pan guardians and stay tuned 4 the in coming ones! ~
I found my place in the LGBTQA community a long time ago, and while it isn’t uncommon for threats to emerge from the outside, it appears one has reared its head from within with dollars signs in their eyes.
In 1998, bi activist Michael Page created and unveiled the bisexual flag. He wrote, “The intent and purpose of the flag is to maximize bisexual pride and visibility. This bi flag is for free public and commercial use. As a result of volunteer work I was doing for BiNet USA, it occurred to me that if bi people were going to be visible at home, pride events and political rallies, we needed a Bi Pride Flag!”
While BiNet USA has previously done tons of great work for the bisexual community, something appears to have happened that’s caused quite a stir.
Days ago, without consulting board members, BiNet USA’s president, Faith Cheltenham, tweeted out to a small creator who sold pride merch about their usage of the bi flag. (From my research, this creator uses the funds for activism)
They then went out to tweet this:
And then encouraged people to send them messages if they saw an unauthorized person using the flag:
There were also tweets like this, where the president called out others:
And then this:
As expected, the backlash on Twitter was loud, large, fierce and immediate, so much so that Bi Net USA deleted their Twitter page (which had around 13k+ followers). Their remaining account is a newly made one called the binetcollective, while the president continues tweeting on her personal Twitter, thefayth.
Many users have taken care to screenshot her posts as evidence.
Not only is she doubling down, but she has taken to doxxing/outing members who have stood up against her.
Here is one example. (A user who screenshot her post as evidence took the liberty to block out the name to protect the emailer’s identity, so as not to potentially out them):
I’m not entirely sure what she means by white bisexual supremacy, as race has nothing to do with why people are upset with her, and the subject of race does not come up in the email, which is a copy and paste email multiple people are sending:
That little black line is something Faith underlined herself.
Here is a statement from one of the board members:
Now, all that being said, can you copyright the bi flag?
According to copyright guidelines: no.
A simple, geometric design with three colors is not eligible for copyright.
Trademarks are another matter, but thus far there is no record of a copyright or trademark on the bisexual flag, so if the President is sending out C&D’s to stop people from using it, they could get themselves into a world of legal trouble and open themselves up to lawsuits.
While she claims to have been contact with Michael Page, saying he has given her the okay to do this, no one has heard from the man himself in years.
My take? Many small creators create pride merch, and that’s totally alright! It increases visibility. The bi flag, or any like flag, should not belong to any one person. It belongs to all it represents! One should not have to ask for permission to use it.
The narrative BiNet’s president is creating is dangerous, and there needs to be a serious conversation about what they are trying to do.
UPDATE:
President Faith Cheltenham has doubled down, and board member Lauren Beach has resigned. There has been no apology thus far, not even for the doxxing. Not entirely sure why the confederate flag was brought up, since it really hasn’t much to do with the whole situation:
